A campaign to cut VAT on maintenance and home improvements is supported by MPs and manufacturers’ groups who say it could have sweeping benefits.
Supporters of the Cut The VAT group want to reduce the tax on these services from its current 17.5 per cent level to just five per cent.
They include MPs Bob Russell and Kate Hoey, the Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association, the Federation of Master Builders, the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors and the Civic Trust.
The group says that the cut would help to reduce the ‘black economy’ and create employment by making working legally a more affordable option.
It also believes that cheaper maintenance costs would bring empty homes back into use and so protect the countryside by reducing development.
And it says a cut could also help make adaptations more affordable for disabled people, help create buildings that consume fewer resources and help people living in substandard accommodation.
A the end of June it made its point by delivering a 10,000-signature petition on the subject to 10 Downing Street. And it is calling for people to visit its website and throw their weight behind the campaign.